During Sunday’s game against Ole Miss, LSU forward Ke-Ke Tardy tried to give teammate Seimone Augustus a chest bump after she scored a basket and was fouled.
Augustus denied her the celebration and would not even give her a high-five. During the post-game interview, Tardy said she was excited about the play, but would not do it again because she was left hanging.
“I get excited when my teammates get and-ones and it pumps me up,” Tardy said.
The rest of the team had reason to celebrate after No. 2 LSU overcame a sluggish first half to pull away from the Rebels 71-54. The Tigers improved their record to 14-0, which ties the team for the best start in school history.
Augustus led LSU with 20 points and five assists. The freshman guard, who was 7 of 11 from the field, said although some players had injuries or other problems to worry about in the game, the team still rallied around her and executed when it counted.
“You’ve got to find some kind of motivation from somewhere,” Augustus said.
The Tigers found it in the second half with Tardy and other players coming off the bench to boost LSU’s slim lead. LSU held Ole Miss (11-3, 1-1 SEC) scoreless for a four-minute stretch during the half and shot 59 percent in the second frame.
Ole Miss head coach Ron Aldy said his team failed to capitalize on LSU mistakes and could not get into any kind of shooting rhythm.
“We could never get that lift that would spark us,” Aldy said.
Tardy scored 10 points for LSU in 19 minutes. She said the game gave the team a true test from an underrated SEC team that will mirror the team’s remaining games.
“If you look at our schedule, we have no more so-called blowouts,” Tardy said. “On paper, the SEC is the best conference and every game is going to be a war.”
Aldy said rebounding also was a concern for the Rebels and wished the team could have taken advantage of open looks.
“There’s no telling how many rebounds we had our hands on and just couldn’t come up with the ball,” Aldy said.
The Tigers fell behind early in the game, not scoring their first basket until 3:27 into the contest. LSU committed 11 turnovers in the half, but forced Ole Miss into 14.
With the Rebels only shooting 40 percent and Gunter implementing the full court press, the Tigers bounced back late in the half. After trailing 14-12, Tardy stole the ball and hit a layup. On the next possession, Kisha James got another steal and score to force the Rebels to take a timeout.
“They put a lot of pressure on us early,” Aldy said, “which led to some easy baskets.”
LSU took a 6-point halftime lead on a long James three pointer. The bucket ignited the crowd and put LSU ahead 33-27.
“You’re lucky to get into halftime with a lead and you hit a three pointer from almost mid court,” Gunter said.
In the second half, Gunter said her plan was just to regroup and get the players to focus on the coaches’ plan.
“Nothing magical,” Gunter said. “The game plan is set, we just have to execute it.”
Sophomore guard Carletta Brown led Ole Miss with 18 points, including 4 of 8 from three-point range. Brown said the difference in the game was the Rebels’ shooting percentage from the first half to the second, along with LSU’s press.
“We weren’t expecting the press, it kind of rattled us,” Brown said. “We turned the ball over three times, which led to scoring layups.”
Gunter said the press kept LSU in the game during the first half and allowed them to take some time off the clock.
For the season, Gunter is pleased with her team’s progress.
“We’re beginning to find ourselves,” Gunter said. “We’re still not where I think we’ll be a month from now.”